The Washington Independent

Posts Tagged political appointees

White House Denies ‘Burrowing’

By | 11.19.08 | 11:44 am

Yesterday I blogged The Washington Post’s story on political appointees slyly sliding into career positions. One expert on the subject I spoke with said the practice has the potential to make it difficult for the incoming administration to carry out its policy vision.

Bush Upped Political Appointments, Now Wants Bureaucrats

By | 11.18.08 | 2:15 pm

Earlier I noted it’s worth keeping an eye on last-ditch “burrowing” efforts by the executive branch, where political appointees slide into career positions, presumably to carry through the White House policy of a previous administration even after a new president has moved in.

Interestingly, the current move by the More…

Why Bother Making Political Appointees Bureaucrats?

By | 11.18.08 | 1:05 pm

This morning’s Washington Post explains that the Bush administration is using the last-minute practice of “burrowing,” or slipping political appointees into career positions in federal agencies, throughout the executive branch.

The Post reports that, so far, 20 political appointees have been changed over to career posts — which carry More…

More Names on Obama’s Short List for EPA Chief

By | 11.06.08 | 12:20 pm

Art’s post today highlights the concern in the scientific community that President-elect Barack Obama could appoint an EPA head who would politicize science as much as Stephen Johnson has. Science bloggers, Art says, are raising red flags about environmental lawyer Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who is on Obama’s short More…

Economy Bad Even for Bush Administration Officials

By | 11.03.08 | 3:20 pm

With fewer than three months to go in George W. Bush’s presidency, it’s time for top administration officials to line up high-powered jobs at Fortune 500 companies or Washington think tanks. But as the Wall Street Journal reported this weekend, that’s not happening.

Partly due to the bad economy More…